Beautiful
by SquishyGrapes
Summary: Ron wanted someone beautiful. Clearly I wasn't what he wanted. RonHermione in Hermione's P.O.V. Read and Review. UPDATED- Chapter 17.
1. Beautiful

Beautiful  
  
~*~  
  
"Oh, I see," I said, my veins were burning with rage. "So basically, you're going to take the best-looking girl who'll have you, even if she's completely horrible?"  
  
"Er-Yeah, that sounds about right." Ron replied. How could he be so shallow?  
  
"I'm going to bed." I snapped and walked as fast as I could up the girl's staircase. I didn't want anyone to see that I was about to burst into tears.  
  
~*~  
  
I sat on the veranda and, being the early riser that I am, watched the sunrise. It was beautiful, the arrangement of colors in the sky like a bouquet of flowers. I thought of Hogwarts and remembered the times I snuck out early in the morning to watch the sunrise whenever I was mad at somebody, Harry, Ron, Draco, it didn't matter. The sunrise was calming.  
  
The time I was thinking about wasn't any different. The memory that was replaying in my mind while the sun came up.  
  
Ron wanted someone beautiful.  
  
Clearly I wasn't what he wanted.  
  
I wasn't pretty, what with my dull brown eyes and curly, unmanageable, out-of-control hair. I was thin, not in the scary anorexia way but slender. I wasn't short but I felt like I was when I stood next to Ron. Maybe I just didn't care about my looks, they weren't important to me.  
  
Maybe they should be, I thought. Maybe I should get a makeover before school starts.  
  
I giggled to myself. I'm being silly.  
  
But as I was brushing my teeth later that morning, I looked at my reflection in the mirror over the sink and changed my mind.  
  
What's wrong with wanting to be beautiful? Author's notes- There's the first chapter, this fic takes place after OtoP. Next chapter should be up later this week, maybe even tomorrow! This whole fic is for Katie.  
  
If you're disappointed, go read some stuff by my friends ApricotKisses, Katie Weasley, and my older brother, NobleBlood. If you're not disappointed go read their stuff anyway.  
  
Disclaimer-J.K Rowling owns Ron Weas- I mean Harry Potter. Lucky her. 


	2. A Makeover Story

Beautiful  
  
"Good morning mum." I said.  
  
"Good morning Sweetheart." She replied. "Eve brought a letter last night, it's on top of the refrigerator."  
  
Eve is my owl, Harry and Ron have owls so I thought it was time I bought one. I had Crookshanks, but he wasn't going to deliver my letters. The letter was from Tonks, she said that her and Remus would pick me up the next day before supper. One day. I had one day to do the makeover. Would it be enough time?  
  
Of course it would - with the right help - I could do it. No problem.  
  
I walked into the living room, picked up the phone and dialed, waiting for her to answer. Her being Parvati Patil. Parvati was in my dormitory, she had suggested once or twice that I should change my looks, not in a rude way of course. At the end of the year, she gave me her phone number so we could keep in touch. I thought maybe she could help me.  
  
"Hello."  
  
"Hi, Parvati?"  
  
"Hermione Granger?'  
  
"Yeah, it's me. Look, I was thinking about what you said, about getting a makeover. I'm up for it. Do you think maybe you can help me?"  
  
"Sure. I'm not doing anything today. Maybe we can meet in Diagon Alley around noon?' She asked.  
  
"Perfect." I said. "See you there."  
  
~*~  
  
I arrived in Diagon Alley sharply at twelve, according to my new watch. Even though we met there, we spent most of the day [and my money] in Muggle London.  
  
Parvati picked out clothes and I tried them on. Some of the jeans were a little tighter than what I would have bought on my own but I got them anyway. I bought several new shirts, some were sleeveless. Parvati found makeup that would look good with my skin tones and accentuate some of my features. Whatever that meant. At some point during the day, we ended up in Hogsmeade, where Parvati found a hair-straightening potion that smelled of roses. I bought three bottles of it.  
  
At the end of the day, Parvati showed me how to apply my makeup the right way. The closest thing I had worn to makeup in my life was chapstick, and even then it was only in the winter. Now I had various shades of eyeshadow, mascara that I poked myself in the eye with three times already, and more lip gloss than I could count.  
  
"Hermione?" Parvati asked, applying a small amount of blush to my cheeks. I had my eyes closed, afraid I'd get poked in the eye by that thing too. "Why did you decide to do this?"  
  
I thought of an excuse as quickly as I could. "I'm going to an important dinner tomorrow night. I want to make a good impression, I guess."  
  
~*~  
  
The next day I waited patiently for Tonks and Lupin to pick me up. I had all my stuff packed. I picked a blue pair of jeans and a pink 'hoodie' as Parvati called it. It was a still a sweater to me. I did my makeup the way Parvati showed me and washed my hair with that potion I bought. Even though it looked good straight I borrowed mum's curling iron and put a few small curls here and there, a hair style I saw in an American movie once.  
  
When they arrived, Tonks said I looked good. Lupin didn't say anything about my looks, he smiled though, I didn't know what to think. Was that a good smile or bad smile?  
  
I paused and looked in the mirror on the way out the door. Was that a tear? I wiped it away and looked at myself.  
  
"Is something wrong Hermione?" Lupin asked.  
  
"No." I smiled.  
  
This is what I wanted. This is what Ron wanted.  
  
~*~  
  
Hope you liked it. Review if you did. I decided to update a little sooner. Thanks to Shannon B. and ApricotKisses [yes, I did change the name] 


	3. Arrival

Beautiful  
  
Lupin raised his right arm. The Knight Bus came swerving around the corner, a cat ran out of the way. You would think at the speed it was going, it would have hit something.  
  
Tonks and Lupin carried my trunk and things onto the Knight Bus, I offered to help but they refused to let me. I almost got sick on the way to Number 12, Grimmauld Place, it made it there quickly but I thought if it had taken much longer I probably would have lost my lunch.  
  
"So why did you do it?" Tonks asked, meaning the change in my appearance.  
  
"You don't like it?" I asked, she said it looked good, why was she questioning me?  
  
"I love it, I'm just wondering why." Tonks looked at Lupin and Stan, who were carrying my things off of the bus.  
  
I couldn't tell her that I changed my appearance because of something Ron said almost two years ago. Using Ron as a reason would sound stupid. I shrugged my shoulders. "I felt like a change."  
  
"I know what you mean." Tonks smiled. She was a metamorphagus, so she could change anything about her appearance in less than a minute. She was frequently changing something about herself.  
  
"Okay, that's everything." Lupin said, looking at my pile of stuff.  
  
We waited until The Knight Bus was around the corner before going in. Number 12, Grimmauld Place had been Sirius's residence when he was younger. Even though he was no longer alive, it was still used as the Headquarters for The Order of the Phoenix.  
  
Ginny greeted us at the door. "You look amazing." She told me. I hoped Ron would think the same thing. Me and Ginny took the smaller bags I had brought while Lupin and Tonks carried my Hogwarts trunk. We were taking the stuff up to the room that I would be sharing with Ginny.  
  
After I got settled in, Ginny suggested that we go show my new look to Ron. I wanted to, but I was nervous so we went down for a cup of tea in the kitchen. Good idea that was. He was sitting at the table........  
  
~*~  
  
Thanks to the people that reviewed chapter 2.  
  
I'm really sorry but the next chapter of Beautiful won't be up until at least Monday, I'm swamped with school work, my dad and my brother are in constant fight mode, and one of my beta readers, Ash, is going to be out of town this weekend. I'd like to thank Shay, my other beta reader, who helped me with some problems I had with chapter two.  
  
EVERYBODY Go read stuff by ApricotKisses, Katie Weasley and NobleBlood. 


	4. Ron

Beautiful  
  
"Is that mum?" Ginny asked, as if she were straining here ears to hear something. I knew what she was doing though, she was trying to get me and Ron alone. I saw this all the time in Muggle movies.  
  
"Mum isn't here." Ron said plainly.  
  
"Well, then it must be Tonks. Or maybe it's Sirius's mum's portrait, I better go close it." Ginny said and walked out of the room.  
  
"She can't close that thing by herself. Well, are you going to sit down?" Ron asked. Why hasn't he noticed yet?  
  
I grabbed the extra fork that was on the table and took a small bite of the cake Ron was eating. "So what's the cake for?" I asked.  
  
"Moody's birthday was yesterday." He told me. "My mum made too much cake. There are two more over there, guess she thought we'd run out. "  
  
Then he looked at me, I mean really looked at me, he noticed everything. The hair, the make-up, the clothes, me.  
  
"What?" I asked, taking another bite, acting as if I hadn't noticed he was looking at me. "What are you looking at?"  
  
"You." He said slowly. "You look different."  
  
I could tell I was blushing and I hoped he wouldn't notice.  
  
"When did you -" He started to ask.  
  
"Last week, I went shopping with some friends." I lied. "I decided to buy some new things."  
  
He smiled. "You look good."  
  
Molly burst into the kitchen, looking frazzled. "I've got all I need to make dinner." She said holding up several grocery bags. "That is the last time I let Albus send me to a Muggle grocery store, it was packed. And then when I got to the counter, oh how embarrassing! Muggle money, who understands it anyway? Ron, what did I say about that cake? Put it away, you're going to ruin you're appetite. Put it away."  
  
And then she saw me. "Oh my Hermione, you look beautiful. Oh, and your hair." She put the bags down and felt my hair. "It's looks so nice. Ron doesn't she look pretty?"  
  
Ron nodded, blushing. Obviously embarrassed that his mother asked him such a question.  
  
Since supper wouldn't be ready for awhile, we had to keep ourselves busy. Once in Ron's room we started a chess game in although pointless as it may seem because he always wins. Ginny left us alone again saying she had to help Molly with dinner.  
  
I wondered what every one at school would think. Would Draco stop insulting me? Would I become closer with the girls in my dormitory?  
  
When Ginny came to get us saying that dinner was ready, I pushed those kinds of thoughts away. Will anything happen between me and Ron? Was the last questions I asked myself.  
  
I guess I'll have to wait and see.  
  
~*~  
  
Tell me what you think. I hoped you liked it. Review [you know you want to]. thanks to those who've reviewed. Go read stuff by ApricotKisses, Katie Weasley, and NobleBlood. 


	5. School Shopping

Beautiful  
  
I sat in my room the next day, reading one of my favorite books. No matter how much I change my looks I'm still the same Hermione. It was a Muggle book. It was about a girl, a bookworm, who changes her looks and becomes popular. She gets involved in a terrible accident and gets severe burns and has to adjust to living her life differently.  
  
Sort of like me. I thought. With the exception of the accident of course.  
  
"Hey, Hermione." Ron said, walking into the room. "Mum told me to tell you that breakfast is ready. Do you want to go get our school stuff today? Ginny can't come so it's just going to be you and me."  
  
"Sure."  
  
After breakfast we went to Diagon Alley. Ginny said she was going to meet some friends there later so she didn't come with us. Maybe she was trying to get us alone again.  
  
Since I spent a lot of money on my makeover, I was sort of on a budget. Sure I had enough for everything I needed, but I couldn't get as many new books as I normally do. Maybe I'll ask my mum and dad for a little bit of spending money.  
  
First thing we did was go for ice cream. We had peanut butter and strawberry ice cream at Florean's. "So when's Harry coming to Grimmauld" I asked laughing at Ron who's ice cream was melting faster than he could eat it, he had ice cream on his hands and wiped them on his blue plaid shirt.  
  
"Tonight, I think. I heard Moody say he was going to go with Tonks and Lupin."  
  
"I'm gonna go get some more napkins." I said as a small bit of ice cream fell onto his sweater.  
  
"You don't have to." Ron told me.  
  
I walked to the counter and asked Florean for some napkins. "Thank you." I said, when he gave me more than enough napkins.  
  
"Granger?" I looked and saw Draco sitting alone in the corner of the room. I walked over. "What" I asked.  
  
He looked at me, up and down, making me feel so uncomfortable that I almost wished he would insult me instead. Would everyone look at me like that?  
  
"You clean up good, Granger. What' s with the change?"  
  
"None of your business, Malfoy."  
  
He looked past me at Ron. "All that for Weasley? You'd think after all that work you did on yourself you'd be after someone more important."  
  
"Like you?" I asked. "In your dreams."  
  
"Nightmares, Granger, nightmares."  
  
"Right." I said and nodded slowly. I walked back to our table and slammed the napkins on the table.  
  
"What's wrong?" Ron asked.  
  
"It's Draco." I said, looking in the corner of the room where he was sitting.  
  
"What'd he do." Ron asked. How would I put into words how I felt? "Did he insult you?"  
  
"No, he-" I couldn't think of how to put it.  
  
"I'm going over there." He said and got up from his chair.  
  
"Ron sit down." I hissed, he ignored me and kept on going. Everyone was watching, I ran up to Ron but I couldn't get the words out. Ron punched him in the eye. I grabbed Ron's arm, trying to get him to stop. "Ron, don't." I yelled. I was oddly reminded of the time before our second year when Arthur and Lucius got in a fight in Flourish and Blotts. A few minutes later, Florean came out of the back, dropping a large tub of ice cream. "Out, all three of you." He yelled.  
  
We all left in a hurry, someone waved Draco over and I steered Ron the other way. Ron had his arm draped over me for support , when Draco pushed him he hit his ankle on the wooden table and fell backwards. I found a bench and me and Ron sat down.  
  
"Ron." I said, pointing to his nose. He had a nose bleed.  
  
He put his head back, resting it on the bench, so he could only see the sky. I was glad he did that when he did. I didn't notice before but the girl who had waved Draco over, that was now kissing him, is Ginny.  
  
~*~  
  
well, what do you think?  
  
Thanks to those who reviewed and I advise everyone to read stuff by ApricotKisses, Katie Weasley and NobleBlood. 


	6. Ginny

Beautiful  
  
We returned to Number 12, Grimmauld Place by Floo Powder. We didn't finish our school shopping so Ron promised we'd go again in a few days, school didn't start for another week.  
  
Luckily, Ron didn't see Draco and Ginny. Molly freaked out when she saw Ron and gave him a lecture about fighting.  
  
Harry came right before supper, perfect timing. I told him all about the fight, leaving out Ginny at the end. Speaking of Ginny, she came home an hour after supper saying she ate at one of her friend's houses. I wonder what she really did, no Weasley would be welcome in the Malfoy's manor. I made a mental note to talk to her as soon as she came up to our room. It was almost eleven when she came upstairs, the Order's meeting was running long and Ginny had went into the kitchen for some leftovers.  
  
"There you are." I said when Ginny entered our room. Crookshanks leapt off my lap,  
  
"Could I borrow Eve ?" She asked, walking over to the desk and sitting down.  
  
"Sure." I said. "But why? Who do you need to send a letter to?"  
  
"A friend of mine." Ginny said and took a quill and a piece of parchment out of the desk drawer. A friend of mine, that's the best she could come up with?  
  
"Are you sending a letter to Draco? I saw you with him today." I told her.  
  
She got up and looked at me. "Did Ron--"  
  
"No, he had a nosebleed because he got in a fight with Draco."  
  
"I heard. Ron's the one that started it, didn't he?"  
  
I couldn't believe she was defending Draco Malfoy. "Well, sort of. Ron only started it because of something Draco said."  
  
"Did you tell Ron?" Ginny asked, now sitting cross legged on my bed.  
  
"No, I wanted to be sure of this myself. Plus, this is Ron we're talking about, he'd kill you. So how long have you been together?" I asked.  
  
Ginny blushed. "About a week before school ended."  
  
"That long!?!." I yelled. "That's almost three months!"  
  
"Be quiet." Ginny yelled back. "I don't want the whole bloody world to know." Ginny is going out with Draco. Draco Malfoy. How could I not say anything?  
  
Ron walked in, not bothering to knock or anything. "What's going on? I heard screaming."  
  
"Nothing. Just girl talk. Hair, make-up, boys. Bye Ron." I said quickly, walking over to the doorway and holding the door open for him.  
  
"Girl talk?" He asked skeptically.  
  
"No, troll talk." I said sarcastically.  
  
"Then why did you scream?" He asked, now looking me in the eyes. Obviously thinking, knowing, that I was lying.  
  
"I saw a spider." I said.  
  
Ron looked around the room. I knew he was scared of spiders. "I don't see a spider."  
  
I held two fingers close together. "It was a small spider."  
  
"You're not afraid of spiders." Ron said. It was true.  
  
"Out." I screeched. Eve , who was sitting at the window sill, nearly jumped out of her skin. Crookshanks woke up and started looking in every direction with a wild look in his eyes. Ginny looked surprised. And Ron, he looked scared.  
  
"I'm going, I'm going." He said and left. I closed the door gently.  
  
"Now, where were we?" I asked.  
  
Ginny burst into a fit of giggles.  
  
"What's so funny?" I asked. I knew what she was laughing at though, me, screaming like a lunatic then going calm in less then ten seconds.  
  
"What about Dean?" I asked, ignoring her giggling.  
  
"That was a lie." Ginny replied.  
  
"But how? I still don't understand."  
  
"We've been sending owls and meeting each other."  
  
"Pigwidgeon?"  
  
"No, Tonks lets me use her owl, and Draco has his own owl so it's actually been pretty easy."  
  
"I heard he was with Pansy Parkinson." I said.  
  
"That' s also a lie. A rumor. I started it really, if people thought he was with Pansy then no one would actually know about us, they'd know about him and Pansy. Dean Thomas was his idea though, thought it'd be best I had a cover too. Too bad Pansy and Dean don't know."  
  
"It's like Romeo and Juliet." I said quietly. "In a twisted way."  
  
"Who?" Ginny asked.  
  
"Never mind." I said. "Let's get some sleep." I said and I went and blew out all the candles in the room. I climbed under the blanket of my bed and made myself comfortable. Ginny did the same.  
  
The room was dark except for a few bits of moonlight shining in the window and everything was quiet. I could hear Crookshanks at the end of my bed purring.  
  
"Hermione?" She asked. "Don't tell anyone about Draco, especially Ron."  
  
"Don't worry." I said. "I promise not to tell."  
  
~*~  
  
There's chapter 6. Tell me what you think. Sorry it took so long! I'm stuck with my dad's girlfriend while him and my brother are in New York, she's keeps coming to the computer to ask if I need anything. It's so annoying! Please review! I'll try to update sooner this time cause I know it gets annoying when people don't update (hint ,hint Shay, Katie)  
  
As usual, I demand you to read stuff by ApricotKisses, Katie Weasley and NobleBlood. 


	7. The Burrow

Beautiful  
  
Nothing much happened throughout the day. After breakfast, we went to Diagon Alley. Harry hadn't got his school things yet, and since me and Ron never got around to doing it the day before, we also got our things. Ginny decided to come with us, did she not trust me? I wasn't going to tell. During the day we saw Neville and he joined us.  
  
When we were in Flourish and Blotts, I was standing beside a shelf of books when I saw , in one corner of the shop, Ginny and Draco. They were having what looked like a rushed conversation. Draco left the shop and Ginny walked over to Ron, then left a few minutes after.  
  
I walked over to Ron. "Where's she going?" I asked, even though I already knew.  
  
"She just saw Luna outside." Ron told me. "She has to talk to her, why?"  
  
"No reason." I said. I felt like telling him, but I couldn't. I didn't want to keep secrets from him but I told Ginny I wouldn't. I hate secrets.  
  
~*~  
  
Of course, dinner was the same. Molly made an amazing meal, members of the Order talking, laughing. Snape never eats here, I wonder why. I mean, why wouldn't you? McGonagall comes once in awhile, her and Molly were laughing about something at the end of the table.  
  
Ginny sat beside me and I had a strange feeling she was doing so to make sure I didn't tell. Ron sat on the other side of me  
  
I wondered what it would be like to be the Order. Like a real member. We have foreign members, one or two of them have stopped by to see Dumbledore. So obviously there is some traveling. There's a lot of research that would have to be done, and I imagine that's what I would be doing.  
  
"Tonks do you think I could borrow your owl?" Ginny asked. Tonks was sitting beside Lupin.  
  
"I don't know, Jade just came back from a long trip Ginny."  
  
"You could borrow Eve." I said.  
  
"Really? Thanks Hermione." Ginny said and left the table.  
  
"Why do you need an owl?" Ron asked. "I could let you borrow Pig."  
  
"I have to send a letter to Luna, I lost last month's issue of the Quibbler and there' s an article in there that I need for Astronomy. I want professor Sinistra to take a look at it." Ginny said. I always wondered where she got the ability to lie so easily. None of the other Weasleys seemed to have it.  
  
She cast a furtive glance at me and left the room. Tonks looked at me and I got the feeling Ginny told her all about Draco.  
  
"Where did Jade go?" I asked.  
  
Tonks smiled, she leaned over and whispered to me. "Nowhere. It's just that I don't like the sound of Draco." She leaned back into her chair,  
  
I laughed.  
  
"I'm going to excuse myself." I said, getting up from my chair.  
  
I ran upstairs, to the room that I shared with Ginny. Eve was hooting and I wondered what Ginny was doing to make her so angry. When I got there, there was another owl, a big eagle owl sitting on the desk. Ginny was writing a letter.  
  
"So where are you going to meet tomorrow?" I asked as I fell onto my bed.  
  
"The Burrow." She said.  
  
"The Burrow?" I sat up. "Are you crazy, you don't want anyone to know so you're going to your house where any member of your family could just walk in?"  
  
"Well, mum and dad stay at the Order for the summer holidays. Not to mention dad's going to work. Charlie's in Romania. Bill's in Egypt. Percy's in London. Fred and George have their apartment in Diagon Alley. Ron will be here at the Grimmauld."  
  
"So you're going to be there alone." I asked, sounding like someone else. "Alone with Draco?" I sounded like Molly.  
  
Ginny was leaning over a piece of parchment, writing a reply. She didn't have to look at me but I knew she was blushing as she nodded her head.  
  
I couldn't think of anything to say. I could tell her not to go but I doubt she'd listen. I couldn't tell anyone because I promised not to. I couldn't show up the next day at the Burrow for no reason. I couldn't stop her.  
  
I couldn't do anything.  
  
~*~  
  
tell me what you think. Is it bad? Good? five out of ten, or two, maybe an eight? remember to read stuff by ApricotKisses, Katie Weasley and NobleBlood. I know there wasn't any Ron/Hermione in this chapter there will be soon. Thanks for the reviews for the last chapter, I have almost thirty reviews! That's at least twice as much than expected Beautiful to get. So, let's try to ring in another two reviews please!  
  
'Mione Weasley- Thank you, she is so annoying! And she's starting to move in on Saturday! It's her fault I lost the disc I saved Beautiful on before the sixth chapter. She cleaned by room while I was at school and bought a desk organizer thingy for inside one of the drawers and put it in there! I went mad looking for it. She bought one for my brother and when he opened it, he's was like "What the f*** is this" I couldn't stop laughing. Do you know anyone like this? 


	8. Tonks Finds Out

Beautiful  
  
Well, I didn't do anything to stop Ginny. She's been gone two hours. Two hours! Ron would kill me if he found out I let her do something like this.  
  
Ginny told her mother just after breakfast that she had to meet Luna in Diagon Alley. Molly believed her. I should have said something right there. But I didn't.  
  
Number Twelve was almost empty when I decided to tell someone. I chose to tell Tonks because she's so close to Ginny. They have developed a sister- like bond that I admit I'm a little jealous about. When I found Tonks she was sitting in the kitchen drinking a cup of tea.  
  
"Do you want some? It's not as good as Molly's but," Tonks poured me a cup. "It's pretty good."  
  
I took a sip and sat across from her.  
  
"What's wrong? I can't read minds but, I can usually tell when something's up."  
  
"Well," I didn't know how to put this. "Ginny's out with Draco."  
  
"Meeting him in Hogsmeade?"  
  
"No, actually. she said that they're going to the Burrow. I wanted to tell Molly but I couldn't so I came to you."  
  
"How long has she been over there?" Tonks asked.  
  
I almost didn't want to tell her, Tonks was as overprotective as Molly and Ron. "An hour." I lied, though not as easily as Ginny would have but she believed me anyway.  
  
"I'm going over there, Molly would kill us both if she found out we knew and did nothing about it."  
  
I felt a little guilty, as I said I wouldn't tell. I walked up to our room. I found Ron in our room, sitting on Ginny's vbed.  
  
"What are you doing?" I asked.  
  
"Nothing. Harry's still sleeping and I didn't want to wake him up so I came in here. Neither one of you were in here."  
  
"So you stay in here instead of going down for something to eat?" I asked, walking over to the desk and shoving all of Ginny's letters into a drawer.  
  
"It's a long walk." Ron said.  
  
I laughed. Tonks went running past the room, and then you could hear her running back down the stairs loudly enough that Sirius's mum's portrait started yelling again.  
  
A few minutes later we couldn't hear the portrait anymore so I'm assuming that someone shut it. I played a game of Wizard's Chess with Ron and I lost,  
  
We could hear Ginny's voice screaming. "You had no right to do that."  
  
Tonks slammed the door and yelled something back. Sirius's mum's portrait started screaming and we could hear Lupin and Molly trying to calm Tonks and Ginny down, leaving the portrait shrieking. "Filth! Scum! By-products of dirt and vileness-  
  
"Maybe we should go down there." I said.  
  
"Nah." Ron said and we went back to our game.  
  
~*~  
  
Thanks to everyone who reviewed, 32 reviews! That's like twice the amount I thought this fic would get by now. I'm glad everyone likes the story but there's one person who reviewed, name slips me at the moment but if don't like the Ginny/Draco then I don't what you're gonna do. Stop reading or ignore it? It's up to you but I'm not changing the story for you.  
  
I talked to my beta-readers and we all agree that this fic needs to go a little faster so I'm going to start merging some of the later chapters I've already written. Why? You ask. Because the story is going a little slower than I intended because of how often I can update and of course, writer's block. Plus, I was hoping to start something new in January. 


	9. Chapter 9, can't think of title

Beautiful  
  
A few minutes into our second game, Ginny came running upstairs. She slammed the door and looked straight at me, completely ignoring the fact that Ron was in the room.  
  
"You promised you wouldn't tell anybody." She yelled at me.  
  
I stood up. "What else was I supposed to do? I couldn't let you- "I caught my tongue, Ron was still in the room.  
  
Tonks walked in. "Don't bring her into this. This isn't about Hermione. This is about you-"  
  
"She told you, didn't she?" Ginny said, pointing at me.  
  
"I had to." I said quietly, I could hear that the portrait quit screaming.  
  
"No, you didn't." Ginny turned back to face me. "I told you not to tell and the first thing you did was run to the first person you could find and rat me out."  
  
"That isn't true." I yelled. " You don't know how many times I've wanted to tell someone, but couldn't-"  
  
"But you did anyway." She said in a cold voice.  
  
Molly and Lupin walked into the room. "Could somebody please tell me what's going on?" Molly asked.  
  
Ginny looked at Tonks then at me.  
  
"It's nothing." I said quietly, and sat back down on my bed, a few pieces fell from the chess board and onto the floor.  
  
Tonks sighed, she looked at Molly as if she was ready to tell her. She looked at Ginny then left the room, Lupin following her.  
  
Molly looked at me and Ginny. "Well?" Neither of us said anything. She looked at Ron.  
  
"Don't look at me, I don't know."  
  
"Alright then, don't think I won't find out because I will." Molly said, before leaving the room.  
  
"I can't believe you did this." Ginny said. She sat down at the desk and grabbed a quill and a piece of spare parchment and began writing. "Tonks will tell her everything now."  
  
"What did Hermione do? What's going on?" Harry asked , yawning, as he walked into the room, probably woken by all the yelling. "What's Tonks going to tell who?"  
  
"Your guess is as good as mine." Ron said. "Just playing a game of chess and everyone comes in and starts screaming."  
  
We all left Ginny alone for awhile, it was obvious she didn't want anyone to bug her. Tonks didn't tell Molly what was going on, which made Molly a little angry. Lupin was going back and forth between Tonks and Ginny, trying to calm both of them down and figure out what was going on.  
  
Feeling that a little. a lot. most of it, actually, of this was my fault, I tried to stay out of people's way as much as possible. Although they had nothing to really do with this, Ron and Harry felt the same way as me so the three of us decided to get out of the house. Having no where else to go we decided to go to Diagon Alley, Tonks came with us to keep an eye on us. She didn't stay glued at the hip but she walked around and looked in the shops herself, but seemed to always know where we were.  
  
Since all our school shopping was finished, all we really did was wander. We visited Fred and George in their joke shop, where they started laughing and teasing Ron about the fight, saying they heard about it from one of Madam Malkin's employees.  
  
Lavender and Parvati just coming out of Gringotts when they spotted us, Parvati waved me over and I told Harry and Ron to wait a moment while I talked to them.  
  
"You look so good" Lavender smiled. "Turn around."  
  
I turned around to show her what I looked like. I was wearing a black tank top and a pair of tan pants, my make-up done the way Parvati had shown me, but a little different because I wasn't used to putting it on yet.  
  
"What eyeshadow is this?" Lavender asked.  
  
"Silver lilac." I replied, then looked at Parvati to make sure I had gotten the name right. She gave a small nod.  
  
I looked back at Ron and Harry, wondering what they were thinking. I normally just threw on anything, and avoided getting caught in a conversation that had to do with anything you would find in a beauty magazine. Now, I was over here standing over here, complete opposite of what I used to be. I was just like them now.  
  
~*~  
  
I understand people want some more Ron/Hermione so I'm gonna re- write some of the next chapter to try and get some in. Believe me, I want it in there just as much as you do. I also know some of you are having problems with the Draco/Ginny, but I like the couple, I want it in my story and it will be. But if you really have to complain about it being my fic, e-mail, okay? starlitamber@yahoo.ca, it's actually my friend's old account but I'm temporarily using it.  
  
'Moine Weasley- Thicker? I really haven't thought of it that way but it would be even thicker if my beta-readers hadn't talked me into cutting some stuff out. It was originally going to have the one major plot line (the Ron/Hermione) and two smaller plot lines- Ginny/Draco and Lupin/Tonks but it ended up with two major.  
  
Name slips me at the moment. - Thanks for the advice. I was the same way last year when my mom was pregnant (she had a miscarriage) but this is so much more. different. This year my mom's coming up though, she usually does about a week before Christmas (my dad never minded, they're still friends) and Julie's all moved in. It's going to be awkward. The guestroom she stays in, is being turned into a room for the baby.  
  
I've been a little sick and I got to stay home today, I had to stay in my room all day. But on the bright side, I needed something to do and my dad hooked up his laptop in my room and I got to work on Beautiful.  
  
Oh, if anyone's reading Not Enough by NobleBlood, it's been uploaded into ApricotKisses's account, it's under a new author. Very good, if you haven't read it yet. 


	10. The Park

Beautiful  
  
The next few days were rather boring, our school shopping was of course, completely finished and we had nothing to do but sit around. Ginny was still angry with me and spent most of her time in the room that we shared. Ginny being in that room, I tried to avoid it, going in there only to grab things I really needed and to sleep.  
  
There wasn't much to do at Number 12, I spend most of my time reading, once in awhile we were allowed to take walks to the park down the street or around the block. I know it sounds stupid, but we didn't have the privilege of going anywhere last year, it was too dangerous for us to leave Number 12 so we were kept inside. This year, if we wanted to go to Diagon Alley, we actually could since there were one or two members of the Order already there or one would come with us.  
  
I was in Harry and Ron's room, they were playing chess and I was laying on Ron's bed with a book propped up against to the pillow. I could hear every move, and without even looking at them I knew Harry was losing, not that I would be doing any better than he was.  
  
Tomorrow was September 1st, which meant we would finally be going back to Hogwarts . I, myself, had lost track of the days and didn't know till Molly reminded us to pack during breakfast this morning. If I'd remembered, I would have had them packed days ago! Since I was trying to avoid Ginny and keep away from the room, I decided that I would rush in there and pack whenever she happened to leave the room.  
  
I looked at my watch, it was twenty after six, I wondered if I'd have enough time to take a walk before dinner. I turned the page, Ron said "Checkmate." And Harry mumbled something about Ron always winning. I closed the book and put it on Ron's night table.  
  
"I'm going for a walk, anyone want to come with?" I asked. "Harry?"  
  
He shook his head. "I still have to pack."  
  
"Ron?"  
  
"Sure."  
  
I went and grabbed a sweater from the room I shared with Ginny while Ron cleaned up the chess board. It was a gray 'hoodie' (Again Parvati's word for the them) with two navy stripes down the sleeves, I zipped it up so that the tank top I was wearing underneath was barely visible.  
  
On our way out, we met Arthur coming home from work. "Where are you two going?"  
  
"Around the block." I said at the exact same time Ron said. "The park." Arthur gave us a skeptical look. "Yes, well, send up sparks if you get in any sort of trouble."  
  
Ron nodded. "I know, I know."  
  
Once we got out the door, I looked at Ron.  
  
"Well, you didn't tell me where we were going."  
  
I laughed. Even though I had said 'around the block' we actually did go to the park down the street. There were two small kids, a little brunette boy and a red-haired girl abandoned the swings and started playing a game of soccer. After they left, I went and sat on one of the swings. Ron, instead of taking the swing beside me stood behind mine.  
  
He gave a small push on my back, the swing went forward and although I was expecting he would do that I was a little startled.  
  
"Kinda glad to get out of there." Ron said.  
  
"Me too." I agreed, my runners started to form a grove in the sand. I watched as the little girl kicked the soccer ball through the two rocks they were using as a net.  
  
I wasn't sure what to say, I tried to think of a time when there was awkward silence between us, but since I couldn't think of one other than now I branded it the first. I didn't like it, I waited for him to say something.  
  
"What's going on with Ginny?" Ron asked, we could hear giggling: the little boy and girl had started to play tag, their mothers, who had been watching from a bench and now gotten up as if ready to leave. "Everyone seems to be making a big deal about it."  
  
"I wish I could tell you." I said, I looked down, my runners had made a deep pit and I couldn't touch the ground if I had tried. "But I can't."  
  
Ron grabbed the chains of the swing and I fell off. "You could." He managed to say through laughter.  
  
I stood up and brushed the sand off, I looked around the kids were gone. I reached over and quickly, but lightly hit him in the shoulder. "You're it."  
  
"That's not fair." He said, he jumped over the swing I had fell off, I started to run. He chased me until he had me cornered, I turned around to see where he was and he got me. I was against a tree, feeling a little bad because I was crushing some flowers but all I could think about was the fact I never realized his eyes were blue. Of course, I'd always known but never taken it in. Never realized they were like clear like water, blue as the sky. I never looked, until now. "No, You're it." He said and then he kissed me.  
  
~*~  
  
ApricotKisses (Shay) was my inspiration for this chapter, she supplied me with an idea and after I re-read You Deserve Better, her Digimon story, I was inspired and re-wrote this whole chapter. Of course, it means I had to do some more rewriting in other chapters but that's okay, I'm pleased with the way it turned out and hope you are too.  
  
Shay, I slipped in something for you. Did you notice it? 


	11. Chapter 11, can't think of title again

Beautiful  
  
I can honestly say that I've never been in a more uncomfortable situation. It's never been this awkward between us. We walked back separately, Ron further ahead because he walked faster and me behind. This is what I wanted, but for some reason it had felt wrong. I'm not saying he's a bad kisser, not at all. It just didn't feel right.  
  
We needed to talk. I knew it, and I'm sure he knew it too. One of us had to say something, but I didn't want to be the one to do it.  
  
"You know it's not safe to go walking around by yourselves." Molly told us as she let us in. "I don't want you two doing that again, you hear me."  
  
We both nodded. "Alright, well, supper is ready if either of you are hungry."  
  
"I still have to pack." I said, Molly nodded. "Well, join us when you're finished Hermione."  
  
I ran upstairs, Ginny was sitting on her bed, Crookshanks was beside her, purring softly. Ginny looked up from the piece of parchment she was looking at.  
  
"Is he mad at you?" I asked, not in a nosy or curious way, just using the question to break the silence.  
  
"Do you care?" She asked coldly.  
  
"Listen," I said, I couldn't stand her being mad at me anymore. " You can tell Draco it's my fault because, honestly, I could care less what he thinks of me and I don't care if you're mad at me and don't want to talk to me. I could have told anybody else in the Order, I could have told Ron, Fred, George, I could have even told Percy but I told Tonks, the one person who already knew. Why, because I wanted you to be safe and I wanted to keep my promise which technically I did keep."  
  
She kept her eyes on her parchment. I didn't know why, I kept going.  
  
"I felt guilty after that, did you know that? Now, I know you're not talking to me now but can you understand that I don't lie as good as you, I can't keep secrets as well as you do. I did tell someone but I only did it to keep you from doing anything you'd regret later, to keep you safe. You're my friend, you're like a sister, I have a right to worry about you while you're out with him, I can also worry about you when you keep yourself locked in this room twenty four-seven."  
  
I took off my sweater and laid down on my bed, I wasn't even mad at her but I needed to get that out of my system. I decided not to go down to dinner, I needed some sleep and I still needed to pack.  
  
"Hermione." I heard Ginny say. I turned around to face her.  
  
"Thanks."  
  
After what I had just said, I thought she would be even more angry with me, I didn't expect that. I went and sat across from her on her bed.  
  
"Nothing happened. He's not mad at me, he was worried, actually."  
  
"Worried?." I couldn't imagine Draco being worried or feeling any kind of human emotion.  
  
"Yeah, he was worried that I would get in trouble. Worried that someone would find out. I mean, if my parents knew, my brothers knew . Well, you know how they would react."  
  
"Yeah, I see your point." I said.  
  
"They'd kill him." Ginny said plainly, stroking Crookshanks.  
  
"Someone's going to find out sooner or later. What are you going to do when that happens?" I asked.  
  
Ginny shrugged her shoulders. "I try not to think about it too much, we've been doing pretty good so far."  
  
"Are you really serious about him?" I asked.  
  
Ginny opened her mouth to say something but Ron came into the room.  
  
"Mum asked me to come up here and get you guys before supper gets cold." He said, looking straight at Ginny, I knew he trying to avoid looking at me.  
  
"Okay, we'll be down in a minute." Ginny said.  
  
Ron left as soon as Ginny answered. "What' s wrong with him?" Ginny asked.  
  
"I'll tell you later." I said as we walked down the stairs.  
  
I took a seat at the end of the table, Ginny sat down beside me. Tonks got up right away with her empty plate and put it in the sink. "It was delicious Molly." She said and left the room. Ginny watched her go and looked back at the table. Molly had put plates of food in front of us.  
  
"Eat up Ginny, you must be starving." Molly said, a cup of tea in her hand. "Do you want something to drink?"  
  
Ginny shook her head and grabbed her fork. It had just occurred to me that the plates of food Molly had been sending up for the last few days had come back down untouched.  
  
"Have you girls packed?" Molly asked.  
  
"No, I was going to do that tonight." I said.  
  
"Oh, right Hermione I forgot. Have you, Ginny?"  
  
"I did yesterday." Ginny said.  
  
"That's good, I want all of you up bright and early. I do not want any of you being late."  
  
After we ate, me and Ginny went straight back up to our room.  
  
I put my Hogwart's trunk on the bed, and began to get my clothing out of the old dresser that was in the room. Ginny went over to the desk and opened the top drawer, grabbing what looked like at least fifty pieces of parchment, then she reached farther back and got all of the envelopes.  
  
"Love letters?" I teased, even though the thought of Draco doing something "romantic" was enough to make me vomit.  
  
"No." She laughed. "Just letters."  
  
I started to fold up my clothes as neatly and compact as I could. Ginny began to organize the letters, putting each one in the proper envelope. I guess she was planning to take them with her. I noticed one envelope was slightly different colored and unopened. I was curious but I didn't want to say anything, we just go over the other fight, no need for another one.  
  
"So, what's wrong with Ron?" Ginny asked, trying to find the envelope that went with the letter in her hand.  
  
I walked over to her. "You can't laugh." I said.  
  
"I promise." She said, reaching for an envelope that was at the corner of the bed, the matching one. I grabbed it and gave it to her. "Thanks."  
  
"We kissed."  
  
"What?" Ginny said, smiling. I knew she wanted to laugh. "When."  
  
"Before I came back." I said, Crookshanks pounced on one of the letters, Ginny pulled it away and he went after another letter then started chewing on the envelope. I picked him up.  
  
"Is that why he didn't look at you?" She laughed.  
  
"You said you wouldn't laugh." I said as Crookshanks tried to struggle out my arms.  
  
"Okay, I'm sorry. It' s just weird."  
  
"Well, yeah, we've been friends almost six years."  
  
"What are you going to do about it.?"  
  
"Talk to him , hopefully." I said, walking over to my trunk, Crookshanks jumped down on my bed and after a minute right into the trunk I don't want to be the first to say something." I started to put my new school books in the trunk.  
  
"Need some help packing?" Ginny asked.  
  
"No, I'm alright." Crookshanks jumped out of the trunk and I put the rest of my books in. "What time is it." I asked.  
  
Ginny looked at her watch. "Eight thirty."  
  
By nine o'clock I had finished packing and Ginny finished sorting her letters. I felt tired so I brushed my teeth and took a quick shower and since I didn't want to stay up any longer, I put my hair up in a braid and decided to deal with it the next day. Even though I was in bed before ten, I didn't fall asleep until after twelve. I was going back to school tomorrow, everyone would see the new look, the new me. for the first time I could remember , I was actually thinking about what other people thought of me.  
  
~*~  
  
Hey everybody. You guys are AWESOME. I have over 40 reviews. I can honestly say I didn't expect that many and I didn't expect my story to do all that great. Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays, Happy New year's. All those things I forgot to say at the end of the last chapter.  
  
I'm almost finished typing up Chapter 12 (it's a long one, 1,552 words so far, I'm not done) and because of all that hectic after Christmas, After New Years stuff I probably won't update again until Monday or Tuesday. Our house is a mess, we had fourteen people staying on New Year's Eve and three more arrived on Christmas Day. My three-year old cousin gave eggnog to Cobain (my brother's dog, named after the guy in Nirvana) and then told us 'puppy puked' but won't tell us where. I need people for the Sorting, so if you wanna add yourself, e-mail me at starlitamber@yahoo.ca. I need a Sorting hat song too, if any of you can help me out with that, you'll get full credit of course. 


	12. Hogwart's Express

Beautiful  
  
"Hermione. Wake up." Someone said.  
  
I turned over, I am tired, I need five more minutes. I could hear Ginny yawning, someone had woken her up too. Wasn't she tired? I'm tired, I'm going back to sleep.  
  
"Hermione, wake up." The person shook my shoulder gently. "Wake up." I needed five more minutes.  
  
They shook my shoulder again. FIVE MORE MINUTES. They shook again.  
  
"Come on, Hermione." The person sat down on the bed, the mattress sank and my legs hit the person. "Wake up."  
  
"Hermione." Another voice. Ginny's.  
  
I gave up, I wasn't going to get my five minutes, I wasn't even going to get two. I sat up. Lupin was sitting at the edge of my bed, Ginny was standing at the mirror brushing her hair.  
  
"Finally. Molly wanted me to come walk you two up, she's starting breakfast." Lupin said. Getting up and walking to do the door. "Oh, and I'd hurry up if I were you. Molly's going on and on about how nothing's ready, claiming you're going to be late and miss the train."  
  
I grabbed my watch off the desk. "It's eight o'clock." I told Ginny. Most of the time I can wake up early on my own, without an alarm clock or someone waking me up but this morning I just felt so tired. Maybe I should take a nap on the train.  
  
"Come on, let's go eat something before we get ready." Ginny said.  
  
I was about to say no, but my stomach growled. "Yeah, let's go."  
  
The door to the boy's room was open, "Rise and shine." I heard Lupin say then the sound of the blinds being pulled up, Ron and Harry groaned loudly. Ginny and I laughed.  
  
"Girls, you aren't even dressed yet." Molly said frantically when we got downstairs.  
  
"We just woke up." I said, I sat down and poured myself a glass of orange juice. Ginny walked over to the fridge and got herself a glass of water.  
  
"Where are the boys?"  
  
"They'll be down in a minute." Lupin said calmly as he walked into the kitchen. "They're wide awake, they're completely packed and are not going to be late."  
  
Molly looked at him as if she was mad that he was calm, as if he was supposed to be freaking out too. "There are four children in this house, they all are going to Hogwarts . They have to be at King's Cross for eleven, and I intend to have them there early. They are not about to miss the train." She put a plate in front of Ginny, and one in front of me.  
  
"You have almost three hours." Lupin said as Ron and Harry walked in. Ron sat at the other end of the table, Harry ,confused, followed Ron.  
  
"Say what you want Remus, I don't care. I want them there early."  
  
I looked at my watch, the hands pointing to 10:15. Ron ran through the barrier and Ginny followed. I looked around and saw quite a few people, it was early so I didn't expect many people to be there. I saw Lavender talking to Dean Thomas. Pansy was surrounded by a bunch of Slytherin girls, showing them something. Draco and his father were talking, I wondered about what.  
  
Draco looked straight over in our direction, looking at Ginny. As Lucius turned around to see where his son's attention had gone I kicked something off my trolley. It suddenly occurred to me that I was covering for them . I bent down to pick whatever I had kicked over and stuck it back on my trolley. Lucius looked skeptically at me then turned back to Draco.  
  
Harry arrived a few minutes later and after we put away our luggage , we found a place on the train.  
  
"You do know that Dean was talking to Lavender?" Ron said to Ginny when we sat down.  
  
"So?" She asked. I kicked her foot to remind her of the rumor she started.  
  
"Don't you care?"  
  
"We broke up a month ago." She shrugged her shoulders. "He can do what he wants. I'm going to go find Luna." She said and left the compartment. I'm guessing she actually had to meet Draco somewhere on the train.  
  
Neville arrived a few minutes later. "Wow, you don't even look like yourself, Hermione. Your hair's looks different."  
  
"Thanks, Neville." I said. I looked at my watch, the meeting didn't start until eleven o'clock, in twenty-five minutes. "Ron, we've got to go meet with the Head's."  
  
"Oh, yeah." He pulled his Prefect's badge out of his pocket and stuck it on crookedly.  
  
After we left, we walked a little further down the hall. I had to get him into an empty compartment. I didn't want to be the one to say something first, but somebody had to. Now, how was I going to get him into a compartment. I thought for a minute and came up with nothing.  
  
"Ron." I said loudly. He turned to look at me and I pushed him into the nearest compartment. He hit the seat and landed on the floor. A few second years from Hufflepuff gave me an odd look.  
  
"Oi, what was that all about." He said, getting up from the floor.  
  
"We need to talk." I said.  
  
"So you attack me?"  
  
I said nothing.  
  
"Look, we have a meeting to go to."  
  
I stood in front of the door. "We have to talk, now."  
  
"Hermione."  
  
"The meeting doesn't start for twenty minutes." I said.  
  
"Alright." He sat down on the seat.  
  
"Why?" I asked.  
  
Ron looked at me.  
  
"Why did you kiss me?" I asked.  
  
He sighed. "I couldn't tell you if I tried."  
  
"What's that supposed to mean?"  
  
"It means I don't know, Hermione. I don't know why I kissed you, I don't know what I was thinking. You're my friend, we have a good friendship, it's not perfect, we fight a lot but that doesn't really matter and I don't know why I went and messed it up." "You're right Ron, it's not perfect. It's flawed, we're always fighting, we never actually agree on anything." I stood up, I felt really short next to him, I was only up to his chin. I looked up. "Can we just look at this as another flaw."  
  
He nodded. "Another flaw."  
  
The Head Boy and Girl turned out to be Cho Chang and Ginny's old boyfriend Michael Corner. Ron gave Michael a dirty look as he passed out a piece of parchment containing a list of rules for us. Cho looked at a small list in her hand and then at all of us.  
  
"There' s someone missing." She said.  
  
Pansy spoke right away. "It's Draco."  
  
"Where is he?" Cho asked. "He's ten minutes late."  
  
"Um, I don't know. I saw him earlier."  
  
"Does anyone know?" Michael asked, when no one answered he pointed at Ron. "Could you go look for him please?"  
  
"I know where he is." I said loudly. "I can go." I must've sounded eager but I couldn't let Ron find Draco and Ginny together.  
  
I got up right away and left, I would have to find him fast and considering I didn't know where he was it could take me a while. I thought of asking someone in Slytherin, but since there relationship was being kept a secret no one would know anyway. After about fifteen minutes, I was nearing the end of the train and still hadn't found them. It was starting to seem empty now, I passed a sleeping seventh year Ravenclaw and a girl who was in Hufflepuff reading a book. Until, finally I found them.  
  
I looked through the compartment window. For the first time since I found out, their relationship didn't seem unbelievable or wrong. Of course , this was the first time I saw them up close and alone . Ginny was laying on the seat using his lap as a pillow, she was holding a book and laughed lightly pointing at something on the page. He nodded, but he wasn't even looking at the book, he was looking at her and twirling a strand of her hair around his finger and unraveling it again. I wished I didn't have to do this. I didn't want to disturb them. They looked relaxed, care-free, happy. They looked perfect. They looked like they were in love.  
  
Now that I was here, I didn't know how to do this. Draco wasn't supposed to know I knew but if I didn't get him out fast, they'd come looking for us. I opened the compartment door and closed it quickly behind myself. They both stood up, the book hit the floor with a loud thud.  
  
"Granger, what are you-"  
  
I backed up, he seriously looked like he was going to hurt me.  
  
"Draco." Ginny grabbed his arm, he looked at her. "Don't worry, she knows."  
  
"Did you tell her?" He asked in a calm voice, as if he couldn't get mad at her.  
  
"I had to. She saw us, in Diagon Alley, after you had that fight with Ron." Draco opened his mouth to say something but she kept going. "Ron didn't see us so you don't have to worry. Hermione didn't want to tell him because she knows how Ron would react if he found out. I had to explain everything to her and she promised not to tell."  
  
Draco looked at me. "I haven't told a soul." I said. Even though Tonks knew, I wasn't the one to tell her so that couldn't count.  
  
"Did you send that woman-" Again, Ginny cut him off before he got to finish. "That was Tonks, she found the letter with the finalized plans on it when she was cleaning and got worried so she came and got me."  
  
"You haven't told anyone?" Draco asked.  
  
I shook my head. "No." I was sort of surprised, this is the first time he's talked to me without insulting me.  
  
"Look, I really didn't want to interrupt you two." I looked at my watch, 11:45. "Cho sent me to come find you, Draco. Our meeting with the Head's was supposed to start forty-five minutes ago."  
  
"Forty-five minutes ago?" He looked at Ginny." I'll see you when we get back to school, okay?"  
  
Ginny nodded and we left.  
  
"What took you so long? Where were you?" Pansy said when we got back, Draco took a seat beside her and I went back beside Ron.  
  
"I thought you knew where he was. What took you so long?"  
  
"I couldn't find him." I said.  
  
"Alright." Cho said. "Let's get started."  
  
I stood outside and held one of the doors as a first year came out, having an extremely hard time with his trunk. "Do you need some help with that?" I asked. The boy nodded and stepped aside. I heard Hagrid "firs years over 'ere , firs years over 'ere.". I was to busy helping the kid that I couldn't wave or look at him but I could hear Ron. "Hey, Hagrid." Then the door he had been holding open slam shut.  
  
"Ron." I yelled.  
  
"Oh right." He said and ran back to the door and opened it again. A few people came out, giving Ron rude looks.  
  
"Anthony." One of the prefects from Ravenclaw. "Take this to the luggage carriage."  
  
Anthony took the trunk and I looked back at the little boy. "Just follow Hagrid and I'll see you back at Hogwarts ." I smiled and pointed to Hagrid. The boy's eyes widened and he walked towards Hagrid.  
  
"Come on, get out you bloody-Dammit, you stupid-." Ron. I looked over, he was struggling with a trunk.  
  
"firs years over 'ere." Hagrid called, he saw me and waved, I waved back. Hagrid went over to Ron and pulled the trunk out for him.  
  
"Thanks. Just give it them." Ron said and pointed to Draco and Anthony who were loading the luggage carriage.  
  
Hannah and Padma went into the train to see if there was anyone still in there, the train was empty. The carriages were filling up fast. Neville was standing outside on of them, Harry, Luna and Ginny must have been inside. They were probably waiting for us.  
  
There were two carriages that were always reserved for the Prefects and one for the Heads. No one ever used them, usually wanting to sit with their friends. I ran over and told Neville that they could go on without us.  
  
"Are you sure?" He asked.  
  
"Yes. Go ahead."  
  
"Alright." He said, sounding as if he wasn't if it was okay to go. Anthony and Padma joined Lavender, Dean, Parvati and Seamus and they all got into a carriage together.  
  
There weren't many things left. Draco, Ron, Hannah, Ernie and I loaded what was left into the luggage carriage. Meanwhile, Pansy did nothing. Since she was going to help him, I picked up the other end of the trunk Draco was carrying. Ron gave me a 'what do you think you're doing' look.  
  
Hannah and Ernie left us. There was only one trunk left afterall. "See you at school." They called to us as they got into a carriage with some friends.  
  
"Come on, Draco. Let's go. Blaise and them have got a carriage." Pansy complained.  
  
Draco looked at me. "Thanks, Granger."  
  
Ron and Pansy looked at him right away. Why was he thanking her? They were probably thinking. All she did was help him with the trunk. Of course, they didn't know I was keeping his secret.  
  
~*~  
  
Author's Notes. (hehe, author)  
  
I wasn't sure about ending the chapter there. It's pretty long (on my computer, 7 pages almost 2300 words. Almost) Longer than most of my chapters normally are. Hopefully, it will keep you guys busy for awhile, I'm have trouble with the Sorting song and don't know when it'll be up. Before the twenty-fifth, for sure. In this chapter, I think Hermione got a little bit of an understanding on Draco and Ginny's relationship.  
  
Keep in mind- Draco and Hermione are NOT friends. They're just not enemies anymore. It's hard to explain. Okay, Hermione knows about the relationship and realizes Ginny cares about him, and keeps their secret as not to ruin the relationship. Draco, knowing that Hermione is keeping it a secret kinda gives him the thought that even though they'll never be friends, she's not too bad. Hermione accepts the relationship a bit more, and he accepts her a little bit. Still don't get it?  
  
The Sorting, Welcoming Feast and all that stuff is coming up in the next chapter. But, I need names for the Sorting. So, can you guys maybe e-mail your names and what house you want to be in to me? Maybe a detail to put with it. You have dark hair, something like that. Only if you want to. My only problem is the Sorting song. 


	13. Sorting

Beautiful  
  
I climbed into the carriage and Ron followed. We each got one side to ourselves. With Eve, Crookshanks and Pigwidgeon with Harry and the others it was pretty quiet. I had laid down on my seat and was looking at the ceiling of the carriage, Ron did the same.  
  
We needed something to talk about, I knew he would have wanted to bring up Ginny again so I had to think of something fast. "Truth or dare?" I asked. It seemed that every weekend the girls in my dormitory would play this game, I never participated but I heard some of the silly dares and outrageous things the girls would admit.  
  
"Truth." Ron replied, as though he wasn't sure of his answer.  
  
"All right." I said. "If you were to trade places with anyone, who would it be and why?"  
  
"Viktor or Harry." Ron replied, I was shocked to hear Viktor's name. "Why?" I asked.  
  
"I want to see what it's like to be noticed by people, to do something and have people react to it. Everyone seems to like them too, they get a lot of attention. From everybody." He looked at me. "Truth or dare?" He asked.  
  
"Truth." I replied.  
  
It took him a minute or two to think of a question. "Where do you go when you want to be alone?" He asked.  
  
"If I told you that, you would come find me." I paused. "I go outside, I watch the sunset, or the sunrise, depending on what time it is. It's usually when I'm 'angry."  
  
"I go to the astronomy tower." Ron said absentmindedly. "It's usually really quiet up there, gives you a chance to think about things."  
  
After a few minutes of questions, it was Ron's turn again. "Truth or dare?" He asked, even though the question was pointless now, the only answer the both of us used was 'truth'  
  
"Truth." I replied.  
  
"If you could have anything you wanted, what would it be?"  
  
I thought about the question. What did I want? I wanted Ron to like me, but to say something like that 'I want to be liked' would sound sort of stupid. So many answers, so many things I want would sound stupid. I want a successful career, a marriage and children when I'm older, but what about now? What did I want right now? I wanted Ron to like, maybe even love me, and I wanted to be beautiful. I couldn't tell him that. But I did. "I want to be beautiful."  
  
He said nothing.  
  
~*~  
  
Having left early, most of the prefects arrived before us. We ended up arriving at the same time as the new first years, Hagrid was helping them out of the boats. We passed McGonagall on our way to the Great Hall, she was on her way to collect the first years.  
  
"Are you two the last ones to arrive?" She asked us.  
  
"I think so, unless Malfoy and the others are still on their way."  
  
"Alright, go ahead to the Great Hall."  
  
We entered the Great Hall and sat across from Harry and Ginny. "Finally, I thought you'd never get here." Harry said.  
  
"I wish the Sorting would start soon, I'm starving." Neville groaned.  
  
"Join the club." Ron said. "I haven't eaten since nine o'clock this morning."  
  
I didn't see what all the fuss was about, I ate at the same time Harry, Ginny and Ron had, but I wasn't in the least bit hungry.  
  
A few minutes later, Professor McGonagall entered the great hall with twenty or thirty first-years following behind her. A few of them were quiet, staring around the Great hall in awe. A few of them were whispering to each other about their surroundings and then there was two kids, a girl and a boy who seemed to be fighting. They were elbowing each other, trying to push other into the tables. The girl actually ended up hitting Dean Thomas.  
  
"Settle down." I heard professor McGonagall say, none of the kids seemed to be listening. I wondered if we were that bad when we were first years. She stopped at the front of the room, and everyone in the hall fell silent.  
  
"For those of you who have not heard about the Sorting ceremony before, the process will go like this; When I call your name, you will come up to the front and put the Sorting hat on your head. Once sorted, you will go to that table and join your fellow classmates."  
  
When this castle was newly built The founders had a plan To look for young students to teach From all across the land  
  
Each founder had the own ideas Of which students were the best For each prized different qualities Which they themselves possessed  
  
Kind-hearted Hufflepuff chose students Of a generous mind  
  
Whilst Ravenclaw made sure The smartest were not left behind  
  
Sly Slytherin thought bloodlines and breeding Made his pupils the best  
  
And Gryffindors were picked for courage When put to the test  
  
But sorting was a tedious task Much lent to inducing boredom So these fine four had me stitched up So I could do it for them  
  
So come on up and don't be shy Sit back, enjoy the show Just put me on your head And I will tell you where to go!  
  
Everyone in the Great hall started clapping. "Avellen, Jared" was the first person sorted, I recognized him as one of the elbowing kids, he was sorted into Ravenclaw. "Bentley, Kirsten." A girl with blond hair and hazel eyes walked up and put the Sorting Hat on, after a few minutes she had been placed in Hufflepuff.  
  
As "Ellis, Suzie." Was walking up to the Sorting hat, I realized that she looked a little bit like Cho Chang, I absentmindedly wondered if they were somehow related that I missed what house she was sorted into. I looked across the table at Ginny, who whispered "Ravenclaw."  
  
"I wonder who the new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher will be?" Harry asked aloud.  
  
I looked up at the staff table. Sure enough, there was one empty seat, in between Snape and Hagrid. "I don't know and as long as that Umbridge is gone I don't care who teaches us." I said, Ron nodded in agreement as his stomach growled.  
  
I found it odd that there were only two 'H's in the Sorting this year. "Harliss, Ashley" who was made a Slytherin and "Hendrickson, Katie." Who was made a Gryffindor, I clapped but you couldn't hear me over the rest of the table.  
  
Being halfway through the Sorting, people were starting getting restless, mostly because they were hungry. "Moore, Matt.", a new Hufflepuff, marked the middle of the Sorting ceremony. It went on to the 'S's and there were also only two. "Sachs, Justin." A boy with black hair and blue eyes was made a Slytherin and a girl with dark brown hair and eyes, the other of the two elbowing kids "Shay, Scott." Was made a Gryffindor.  
  
I listened as best I could to the 'T's but missed three of them because Ron, Harry and Neville had been talking about the possible Defense Against the Dark Arts teachers. They quieted down just long enough for me to watch "Turner, Holly" get sorted, when the Sorting hat called out "Gryffindor" I clapped as loud as could but still I was drowned out by the rest of the Gryffindors. Holly looked a little bit like me actually, brown hair and eyes, with the exception of perfect teeth.  
  
A few more names had been called, but none of them were sorted into Gryffindor. Professor McGonagall rolled up the parchment and put it in her cloak pocket, she then left the Great hall with the Sorting hat and the stool.  
  
Dumbledore stood up, he had much more silencing power, the whole room became silent immediately. "Welcome to another year at Hogwarts . I hope you all enjoyed your summer vacation. I can see, by the look on your faces, that you are waiting for the feast to begin." He smiled, looking around the room. "So I will try to keep it short. First things first, you will receive your timetables in the morning, and the classes will begin tomorrow. As for questions regarding Quidditch, I ask that you speak with the head of house. " He looked around the room. "Let the feast begin."  
  
"Finally." Ron said, as the tables filled with food. He reached for some of everything and piled his plate with food, as did Neville and Harry. Ginny and I took a little of everything, sampling in smaller portions.  
  
"So what's fifth year like?" Ginny asked me, grabbing another baked potato with her fork.  
  
"Academically, you mean? Well, it's harder, definitely harder. Of course, I guess it depends on the person." She pointed to the butter and I passed it to her. "You should do fine if you don't leave everything until the last minute, like Harry and Ron did. Of course, I didn't have Quidditch practice or anything like that."  
  
Ginny nodded. "Are the OWLS hard?"  
  
"I studied so it wasn't too hard, the written was a lot of multiple choice and short and long answering."  
  
I heard Ron, Neville and Harry talking about Quidditch and then I asked Ginny, "Do you think you're going to try out for the Quidditch team? You did pretty good as Seeker last year."  
  
"Yeah, I was thinking about trying for Chaser."  
  
Even though the feast went on for almost two hours, it seemed short. I talked to Ginny the whole time mostly, talking once to Luna when she wandered over from the Ravenclaw table. Ron, who was sitting beside me leaned against my shoulder and put his hand on his stomach.  
  
"Have enough to eat?" I asked, laughing.  
  
"I think I gained ten pounds, I don't need to eat for another month."  
  
I tilted my head and leaned against Ron's head. "We still have to escort the first years to the Common room."  
  
"I don't think I can move." He said, I laughed.  
  
Colin, who had been sitting beside Ginny (across from me) took a picture. I thought of Draco and Ginny this afternoon, the sunlight on their faces, how perfect they looked. I hoped that, just for one moment, in that photograph, Ron and I looked perfect together.  
  
~*~  
  
Sorry, it took so long. I had food poisoning and about when I got over that we had to go visit my grandparents. I have two of my cousins staying over but I can still work on Beautiful. I hope you liked it. please review!  
  
HEY EVERYBODY. I just want to let you know that my new friend Holly wrote the sorting song and if it wasn't for her it could've taken even longer for the chapter to come out. Everybody give her a round of applause! This chapter is for you, Holly! 


	14. Sunrise

Beautiful  
  
I was the first one awake in my dormitory. I got up and made my bed as I do every morning. I looked around to make sure I hadn't woken anyone up, Parvati made a small noise and buried her head in her pillow. Looking out the window, I saw that it wasn't even light out yet. All before seven, I had taken a shower, gotten dressed and made my bed.  
  
I walked down to the empty common room, it was cold and I absentmindedly thought of running back up to get a sweater. I wondered what I could do, there were a few chapters in Standard Book of Spells Grade 6 I had yet to read, but it was in the dormitory with the rest of my textbooks. I walked over to the bulletin board and found out that our first Hogsmeade weekend was next weekend. It was odd, they weren't usually scheduled until----  
  
"Morning, Hermione."  
  
I jumped. "Ron, you startled me."  
  
"I noticed." He smiled. "So, I guess you couldn't sleep either?"  
  
"No. I couldn't"  
  
Since neither of us had anything to do, we wandered around the school. I somehow found him easier to talk to during these last few days, maybe now he was willing to tell me more. We had been best friends for a long time now and he had suddenly become more open. Did it have anything to do with the kiss? I couldn't help but think about that kiss, it wasn't exactly something you forget about overnight. Is it really all behind us? Just another flaw...  
  
"I've got an idea." Ron said, he looked at his watch. "Come on." He took my hand and started to lead me down the corridor. I suddenly felt really awkward. Ron was holding my hand. If we were to see someone right now, I wonder how we would appear. Would it look as if we were a couple? If anyone (I dread the thought of Pansy or Malfoy) was to see us, is that what they would think?  
  
"Where are we going?" I asked, hurrying a little until I was right by his side.  
  
"Hold on, Hermione. We're almost there." Ron said.  
  
We started walking up a large staircase. We passed The Gray Lady and Nearly Headless Nick. "Good morning Ron, Hermione."  
  
"Good morning, Sir Nicholas." I said as they passed.  
  
"We're going to miss it."  
  
"Miss what? Ron, just tell me where we're going. Isn't that Sinistra's office?" I suddenly realized that we were at the door that lead to the astronomy tower.  
  
Ron lead me up the stairs and shut the door behind us. The view from up here was amazing. Everything was visible, the Quidditch pitch, the Whomping Willow, you could make out Hagrid's little house on the edge of the Forbidden Forest. The sun was starting to rise, the sky was an assortment of colors, pink, blue, purple, gold, too many to name. "I can see why you come up here." I said, barely a whisper, unsure if he had heard me or not.  
  
Ron made himself comfortable on the floor and motioned for me to sit beside him. I sat beside him, he had put the robe he had been wearing on the ground. I rested my head on his shoulder as he did to me the night before. "Isn't it beautiful?" I asked.  
  
I could feel him nodding. "Beautiful."  
  
~*~  
  
Sorry about the short, kind of pointless chapter. I lost 6 chapters of Beautiful at school, the disc and the computer made a funny noise and POOF! All gone, six chapters. Three of which I had wrote over the weekend, new chapters.  
  
But that's okay. I needed more Ron/Hermione and decided that a little dose of our favorite couple could hold you over until I can finish re-writing the rest of the chapters. 


	15. Secretive

Beautiful  
  
It was after eight when Ron and I headed for the great hall. Harry and the others had to be awake by now, I knew Luna was awake we saw her wandering around a few minutes ago. More people were up and about now, looking for their friends in the corridors, going to get breakfast in the great hall.  
  
I thought about what had just happened. It seemed like something out of a book, or a movie, Ron and I watching the sunset. Did that mean anything? Well, okay, not exactly what I meant. I'm not saying that I didn't feel a thing. But, should I take it seriously? Did he take me up there just to watch the sunset? That's not what I mean, I mean I wonder if he was trying to get some sort of message across to me?  
  
We turned around a corner and started to walk down a staircase. I put my hands in my robe pockets, it was chilly this morning. Ron had held my hand, I don't know why I was making such a deal about this but I was. Viktor had held my hand all the time, but I'm talking about Ron. Ron was my best friend, is my best friend I should say. Maybe this is why this is different, maybe I'm just not used to this yet.  
  
"Where have you two been?" Harry asked as I sat beside him, Ron opposite.  
  
"Fancied a walk, mate. Pass the marmalade." Ron had only been there two minutes and he had already filled a plate with food.  
  
Harry passed him the marmalade. "Fancied a walk?" He asked skeptically, as if it was an excuse or lie he had heard before.  
  
I poured myself a cup of coffee and grabbed a plate. "Have you seen Ginny?" Harry asked, I shook my head and grabbed two pieces of grapefruit and a bagel. "Why?" I asked.  
  
"Well, I saw her this morning for a few minutes, saying she had to meet Luna she left the common room. Luna's sitting over there. I just figured Ginny would come to the great hall for breakfast."  
  
I spread some cream cheese on my bagel, Ginny must be meeting Draco. I wondered how they kept a relationship like theirs a secret in a school like this.  
  
"Yeah, have any of you noticed how secretive she's being lately?" Ron asked, spreading marmalade on another piece of toast.  
  
I tried my best to ignore the conversation, I knew what was going on with Ginny and they knew it. I wondered if this conversation was planned, hoping for me to tell them everything. Secretive. I was being just as secretive as Ginny was. Not only was I keeping their relationship from being exposed, I was hiding the real reason for my makeover.  
  
~*~  
  
Potions was our first class. It was the same as any other class, except for the first twenty minutes when Professor Snape wrote a short review on the blackboard on the potions we did last year. I promised to lend Harry and Ron my notes, seeing as Snape charmed the blackboard to erase the notes and list of potion ingredients after twenty minutes. It was for a minor healing potion, used on cuts and small gashes.  
  
I was the first one done my potion, I filled a small flask and walked over to Snape's desk with it. Snape picked it up and examined it through the clear glass. "Up to your usual standards." He said simply, with a little surprise, and put it back down. I saw out of the corner of my eye that Pansy and Draco were watching.  
  
"What do you mean, Professor?"  
  
"It seems that you spent the majority of the summer vacation focusing on your hair rather than your education. Styling instead of studying." He looked at the little flask. "I guess not."  
  
"None of that effects my schoolwork." I said, before Snape could reply a loud fizzing noise erupted behind me. "Honestly Longbottom, it's the first day."  
  
I tried to brush off what he just told me, but none of my teachers looked at me the same way as they did before. I say a little bit of loss in each one of them.  
  
~*~  
  
Again, it's shorter than I would have liked. I would have rather have had McGonagall talk to her but I thought she wouldn't say something like that. Snape's a little more forward, and meaner than McGonagall.  
  
Next chapter should be up in the next few days.  
  
Squishgrapes 


	16. First Week

A/N- Making Prof. Vector a male. The gender is never said in the books, but I always pictured Vector to be a guy. Oh, and sorry to one of my friends, I used their nickname later in the chapter.  
  
Beautiful  
  
During that first week, I got odd looks from all my teachers. They seemed convinced that my new image would change the way I act at school. I was used to my teachers having their opinions of me, I was a hard worker, a know-it-all, the best student. The list was endless.  
  
But this was different.  
  
I took the time to do extra research for my last Potions essay. I aced an Arithmancy review test. I was always ahead in Transfiguration, always the first one done, always put my hand up to answer the questions.  
  
I was still looked at differently.  
  
~*~  
  
I walked up to Professor Vector's desk and handed in my test. "First one done, Hermione." He flipped through the four page booklet. "Good job. Take a seat, there's only a few minutes of class left. "  
  
I sat down and put my stuff in my bag. "Garret, eyes on your own paper." After about a minute, the majority of the class had handed in their tests. The bell rang.  
  
"Wait class." Professor Vector stood up from his desk. "Remember to do pages 314-315. Odd questions only." I grabbed a pen, which I kept in my bag in case I ran out of ink for my quill, and wrote the assignment on my arm. When I walked out of the room, Ron was standing there.  
  
"What are you doing here?" I asked.  
  
Ron mumbled something, he was playing with a small tear on the sleeve of his robe.  
  
"What?" I asked.  
  
Ron looked up. "Waiting for you. Harry wanted to get there early so he could talk to Hagrid. I thought I'd come down to your class and walk with you."  
  
"Thanks, Ron." I said, then laughed at myself, I sounded incredibly stupid. Thanks, Ron what was with that anyway? Parvati must of hear me and thought the same thing because she looked back and smiled. To break the awkward silence, Ron started telling me about what they did in Divination. I hated the subject, and the teacher, true seers were rare and it was clear Trelawney wasn't one. Ginny walked past us without saying anything. "Hey" Ron called after her, but she was too far away to hear. "Why is she in such a hurry, she doesn't have any classes that way."  
  
When we got to class, Harry and Neville were talking to Hagrid and I wasn't surprised to see that Draco wasn't there. Were they skipping class to be together? Come to think of it, Draco wasn't in two Potions classes this week. I made a mental note to talk to Ginny about it.  
  
We heard the bell from the castle, and Ron and I found a large tree stump to sit on. A few people laid their robes on the ground and sat on them, others just sat on the grass. Hagrid took attendance, then looked at the class. "Get yourselves a partner everyone, I'll be righ' back." I partnered with Ron. Hagrid walked behind his house and brought back a medium sized cage, he opened it and whatever it was walked out.  
  
It was an odd looking creature. It was small with fluffy white fur. It seemed to have a body similar to a rabbit, but the legs were a little longer and it was had the face of a kitten . Hagrid picked it up and it jumped out of his hand, he picked it up again.  
  
"What are they?" I looked back and saw that Draco had just arrived.  
  
"Kirattes. Jus' born a few days ago. I thought we'd start off the year off with a project. That's why I told you all to get yourself a partner. You're going to raisin' em over the next few months." Hagrid looked around. "C'mere so I get write all the pairs down and I'll give ya a number which will be on the Kiratte's collar. They don't have any names yet, so when ya can pick the names fer them."  
  
Hagrid went around and got some more of the creatures. Compared to the cages they were very tiny, I wondered how big they would grow. "Ron and Hermione, go get number three. It's a female. Hagrid said as he wrote down our names. I walked over to the cages to pick one out. "Draco and, who's your partner? Pansy. Okay, go ahead. Number seven, "  
  
I looked at the collars of six of them until I found ours. "Where is she?" I asked when Draco walked over. Obviously, by 'she' I meant Ginny. I thought they were skipping class together, but Draco showed up.  
  
Draco looked back, Lavender and Dean were signing up. "I'm not sure. We saw each other before class, I told her to go to class but she probably went to the library or the great hall."  
  
I went back to Ron and handed him the Kiratte. "Hey, little guy." Ron said, holding the Kiratte in the palm of his hand.  
  
"Ron, it's a girl."  
  
"Oh. Well, what you suppose we name her?  
  
By the end of the lesson, we had named our Kiratte Shay, and tried feeding her little bits of food that Hagrid had gotten from the kitchen. Lavender and Dean's Kiratte had eaten a black olive. Harry and Parvati managed to get theirs to eat a two grapes. So far, Shay had eaten a fourth of a small strawberry and a flower petal Ron gave her as a joke.  
  
After class, we went up to the great hall. Sure enough, like Draco had said, Ginny was sitting there. A book was in front of her and she seemed to be copying some notes out of it.  
  
"Where have you been lately?" Ron asked, when we reached her.  
  
"What do you mean?" Ginny asked. "I see you everyday." She pulled a fruit basket towards her and grabbed an orange, I grabbed on to  
  
"I mean today, at lunch. And every other day this week." Ron said.  
  
"There are other places to eat lunch, Ron. Plus, I've been here for supper." Ginny replied calmly, peeling her orange.  
  
"Okay then, where have you been eating lunch?" Ron asked, Harry and I rolled our eyes at the same time and then started to laugh really hard, I felt silly since Ginny and Ron were having a serious talk right beside us.  
  
"Some teachers allow you to eat in their classes at lunch, you can eat outside and there are plenty of empty classrooms to eat in."  
  
"So, basically, you've running off to an empty classroom everyday, without saying a word to anyone, to be by yourself? I've been asking people all week and none of them could even give me an idea where you are."  
  
"Yes." Ginny replied and went back to copying her notes. Ron wasn't sure what to say after that.  
  
~*~  
  
Long after supper, I went to the library and then to the dormitory. It felt good to take my bag off my shoulder for awhile. I laid down on my bed and pulled the curtain around me. The other girls were playing truth or dare and talking about things that happened throughout the week. The biggest topic was that Lavender and Dean had become a couple.  
  
I was about eighty pages into the first book when the laughter and talking of the other girls had gotten to me. I looked at my watch, it was shortly after nine. I went down to the common room and sat on the couch beside Ginny. Ron and Harry had went out to the Quidditch Pitch to practice.  
  
There weren't too many people in the common room tonight. It wasn't unusual though, it was a Friday night. People were outside on the grounds, in the dormitories, meeting up with their friends in nearly deserted areas of the school and some people even sneaked out to Hogsmeade. A few seventh years were sitting in the corner of the room doing homework. Colin Creevey was playing chess with a fifth year I didn't know. Four first year girls were playing a wizarding board game.  
  
"Can you hold on a minute?" Ginny asked.  
  
"No problem." I replied, and Ginny ran up the spiraled staircase to the girls dormitory. A minute later, she returned with an envelope in her hand.  
  
"What's that?" I asked, but then I recognized. Ginny had been sorting through her letters the about a week and a half ago and there was one that was slightly different.  
  
Ginny sat down beside me. "Okay, don't get mad at me. Remember when we were fighting at Grimmauld? You avoided coming into the room, and when you were out one day a letter came for you. I didn't know what to do with it because we weren't talking to each other. "  
  
I wasn't sure what to say. Ginny passed me the envelope, I turned it over. It was a letter from Viktor.  
  
~*~  
  
Okay, It's a little longer than the last few. I plan to make the next one even longer. I wasn't sure how to end this exactly but I don't know how to write a story based around Hermione and not have a little of Viktor in it. I know it was a stupid thing to have Ginny not give it to her right away but I wanted to put it off for a little while.  
  
The Kiratte's? It's not supposed to sound like Karate, but rhyme it with pirate. They sound kind of dumb, right? I couldn't think of anything.  
  
It's late right now, around one in the morning (late for me anyway). I don't have my muse and I'm tired so sorry if the chapter was disappointing. 


	17. needs a title, please help

Beautiful  
  
I could not explain any of the thoughts that were going through my head. I wasn't sure what to do, I mean, I got this makeover in order for Ron to notice me. It seemed to be going well, we were spending a little more time together than we usually did. I knew a letter from Viktor would affect everything in a big way, regardless of what the letter said.  
  
I was so glad that Ron and Harry went down to the Quidditch pitch to practice. If Ron were here right now, he would be going insane. I don't know exactly what Ron's problem is with Viktor. Ron seemed to be... protective. Ginny calls it jealousy. Whatever it is, Ron doesn't like me having anything to do with Viktor, he caused a scene at the Yule Ball, went berserk over a letter in our fifth year.  
  
I looked at Ginny and she knew without me saying anything that I wanted privacy. Ginny went and sat down beside Colin Creevey, watching the chess game he was having with a friend.  
  
I opened the letter.  
  
Dear Hermione  
  
I would have written sooner than this but I have been very busy. Quidditch takes up a fair amount of my time but currently the coach is giving us time off. I have submitted an application for Wickwood Academy. Have you heard of it? I am sure you have, you knew of Durmstrang long before we came to Hogwarts.  
  
Well, if you know of Wickwood, you probably know that it is in London. There are going to be several 'open houses' where you can take tours and meet with professors, I plan on attending them. I have made reservations to stay at The Three Broomsticks. I will arrive on 9 September and be leaving sometime before the end of October. I do not plan to stay there the whole time, just until I can find a place to stay.  
  
I really miss you, Hermione. It seems like forever since I last saw you. I chose to stay in Hogsmeade because it's closer to Hogwarts; do you know when your first Hogsmeade weekend is? I was hoping maybe we could meet somewhere and spend some time together.  
  
Love, Viktor  
  
At that moment, even with all those thoughts rushing through my head, I didn't know what to think. I reread it a few times.  
  
I'm excited, I haven't seen Viktor in a long time and it would be nice to see him again... Disappointed, this could mess up my chances with Ron... Confused, obviously, what am I going to do?  
  
Ginny came back and sat down beside me. "Well, what does it say?" She asked curiously.  
  
"It's Viktor." I said. "He wants to see me." I gave her the letter.  
  
"Well," Ginny said after reading the letter, "I don't see the problem with that."  
  
"What about Ron?" I said, then though to myself 'Smooth, Hermione! What'd you say that for?'  
  
"What about him? Viktor wants to see you, not Ron." Ginny and I started laughing.  
  
I looked up at Viktor, smiling as he led me into the great hall. I smiled myself. The hall was gorgeously decorated and everyone was wearing his or her best dress robes. Viktor led me into the middle of the great hall, all eyes were on us. And that included Ron's.  
  
I said nothing and started walking out of the great hall. I was in an empty corridor and I heard footsteps behind me. "Viktor" I asked: Nothing.  
  
I ran out of the castle and found myself not in the gorgeous periwinkle-blue dress robes , but in a black t-shirt that read 'freedom' and blue jeans. I felt cold.  
  
"Hermione?"  
  
I turned to see not Viktor, but Ron. For some reason, I began to run. He ran after me until we reached the lake. "I don't know why you feel the need to do this." He said to me.  
  
I fell to my knees at the water's edge; the water reflected my face perfectly. I started to cry. Ron knelt down beside me and put his arms around me, I leaned against him and the coldness went away. I looked at my reflection again; it didn't make sense. I was not beautiful. Ron gently put a strand of my hair behind my ear and whispered to me. "You're it."  
  
I opened my eyes, finding myself on the couch in the Gryffindor common room. How did I get down here? I thought. I moved my arm and knocked my book off the couch with a thud.  
  
"What was that" Ron jumped from the armchair, obviously he had been trying not to doze off. "I thought you'd never wake up?"  
  
"What time is it?" I asked tiredly.  
  
Ron took my wrist and looked at my watched. A new pink one Parvati had picked out for me, forcing me to discard my old black one. "It's almost three in the morning, you fell asleep and no one wanted to wake you" I sat up and realized there was a blanket on top of me.  
  
"I brought it down from the boy's dormitory, you looked cold"  
  
"Oh, thanks Ron." I said.  
  
I tried making my hair look a little neater; sleeping on a couch doesn't exactly do wonders for it. My thoughts switched to my dream, what on earth was going on there? Why was I running from Viktor? Ron was in my dream...  
  
"Something wrong"Ron asked.  
  
"No." I replied. "Nothing's wrong."  
  
I folded the blanket. I felt wide awake after my little 'nap'. "Are you going to sleep now? You can have your blanket back."  
  
Ron reached for the blanket. "You aren't going to sleep?" He asked  
  
"I feel wide awake now." I told him.  
  
"Staying up to watch the sunrise, are you?" He smiled and put the blankets back down.  
  
I smiled. Ron said back down in the armchair. My book was on the table in front of the couch, letter from Viktor sticking out of it. As I grabbed the book and made sure the letter was out of sight, a small pop sounded in the room. We both turned our heads  
  
Dobby.  
  
"Friends of Harry Potter!" The elf said happily. "Dobby is very glad to see you."  
  
"Oh no." I said. "I forgot to knit more clothing!"  
  
Ron rolled his eyes. I hit him playfully.  
  
"Dobby has come to do his nightly cleaning." He informed us. "Dobby wonders why you are still awake, house elves are not to be seen."  
  
"Um.." I looked at Ron, he could answer the question, why were we up at three in the morning? Ron shrugged his shoulders and Dobby seemed to take it as a suitable excuse.  
  
"I forgot to tell you. We visited Hagrid after we practiced and he said we could come and take care of our Kiratte anytime." Ron told me. "He said we could get extra marks for it"  
  
"Want to go tomorrow?" I asked.  
  
"Don't you mean today, it's past twelve?"  
  
"That's what I meant."  
  
Dobby tapped me on the shoulder. I jumped. "Sorry, miss, but Dobby wonders if you two need anything."  
  
"No thanks, Dobby." I said.  
  
"Something to drink would be nice." Ron said. I shot Ron a look, as Dobby left.  
  
"What?" He asked. "I'm thirsty."  
  
As I shook my head, Dobby reappeared with another popping noise. He brought two goblets filled with juice.  
  
"Thanks, Dobby." I said, even though I hadn't asked for anything in the first place.  
  
"Yeah, thanks Dobby." Ron said.  
  
I reached into my bag and dug out four sickles, all I could find. I gave them to Dobby, who was a little reluctant to take them. I insisted. After a few minutes, he took the sickles.  
  
Ron looked at me. "He doesn't want your money, Hermione."  
  
"I don't care, Ron. I didn't knit anything this time; I had to give him something!"  
  
Ron took a drink, he was smiling and it seemed he was hiding behind his cup.  
  
I sighed. "What now, Ron?"  
  
He laughed. "I was just thinking..."  
  
"Of?" I asked, I made a quick transfer of Viktor's letter to the inside of my bag.  
  
"You haven't changed a bit."  
  
"You know how I feel about house elves, Ron."  
  
"No, it's just." He stopped. "With your new looks and all, I thought, actually, I was worried you would change too. I was hoping you wouldn't"  
  
I didn't even know what to say to that. I smiled. He was worried about me changing? Was that a good thing? Does that mean he likes me? He is so confusing. I took large gulp of the juice; I was going up after I finished, before this go weird. The goblet refilled itself.  
  
"I don't plan on changing, Ron." I made sure my things were together, all my books were in the bag I brought down.  
  
First, I was running from Viktor? Now I was running from Ron? Hold on, Hermione, I told myself, that was my dream. "I'm feeling tired, Ron. I think I'm going to go up."  
  
"Oh...okay." He said, putting down his goblet.  
  
I walked towards the staircase. I turned around. "For the record, Ron, I hope you don't change either."  
  
Okay, writing late at night is a bad idea. That's how you end up with Kirattes and stupid things for Ron and Hermione to talk about. Anyway, I was made cheerleading captain, and it occurred to me, we need a Quidditch captain.. so, who should it be? please help. All the credit for the hermione's 'dream' goes to ApricotKisses. 


End file.
